Cliff Diving
by WeAreOnlyLiars
Summary: Callie Anderson is a world traveler out to find, and possibly debunk, many of the world's cryptozoological creatures. When her and her trusty sidekick Matt, come face to face with a dangerous creature, they can us all the help they can get. In comes Joshua Gates, infamously known world traveler and host of SyFy's "Destination Truth", to the rescue.
1. The Beginning

Callie stood in the mouth of the cave, a head lamp on her head, a machete in hand, and a belt full of tools on her hip.

Her close friend, Matt, stood next to her, giving her a serious pep-talk.

"I don't care what's down there. If anything, and I mean anything, happens, I want you out of there immediately. If I tell you to come back, do it. Alright?" He added.

Callie rolled her eyes, "Yes mother. We've done this before."

"Yeah, well last time you didn't listen." Matt replied agitated.

"I'm going, before we start a fight." She said as she slowly entered the cave.

"Be careful!" He screamed at her.

She wiggled her way into the cave, and soon discovered it opened up further in.

As she climbed, she heard Matt call to her through the two way radios.

"What do you see?"

"Eh, nothing really. It smells faintly of acid.. maybe even ammonia. I am stepping on something that crunches. It may be twigs, but if not, it's gross."

"You make me so nervous sometimes," Matt said.

Callie laughed, and continued on through the cave.

As she went, the stench grew stronger, and it felt like the abundance of crunchy "twigs" was getting bigger.

Matt radioed once more, "Hey Cal, there's people out here who want to talk to us. They say there looking for something called a Ropen.. I think."

"Hold on. I think I found what looks like a nest. There's definitely something living in here." Callie radioed back to Matt.

"Hey, that's just great. Get out NOW!" He cried to her.

Callie ignored his request, and dug a small bottle out of her belt, and scooped some dirt into it.

Closing the bottle she stored in back into her belt, when a low thunderous noise came through the cave.

"Hey, is it storming outside?" She asked.

"..No. Why?" Matt cautiously replied.

"It sounds like its thundering in here.. or maybe it's growling.." She trailed off.

"Callie! Callie, answer me."

She continued searching the cave for a few seconds, keeping the noise in the back of her mind.

As she was turning to exit the cave, the stench began to increase, making her fight to keep down her lunch.

She quickly began to reach the tight space, when she felt something hot on her neck.

She shook off the sensation, and started towards the tight space, and immediately felt something grab at her leg.

She emitted a blood-curling scream.

"Callie!"

She heard shuffling of feet, and continued to feel the sensation of trying to be pulled back underground.

"I got you," Someone said to her, as they wrapped their arms around her underarms.

She gave one final kick at the things holding her captive, and landed backwards onto whoever was holding her.

"Holy shit Cal. Are you okay?" Matt asked trying to get closer to her.

She let out a low groan, "My leg."

When she sat up, she saw her leg to be a bloody mess.

"Is my foot missing?"

Matt let out a low chuckle, "No, but we need to get you cleaned up."

She nodded, "What did I land on?"

"Um.."

She slowly turned to see a man, mid twenties, with reddish brown hair and a matching beard, laying underneath her.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" She cried as she tried her best to scramble off the man.

Someone walked up behind her, along with Matt, and hoisted her to a standing position.

"So, you want to tell me what the hell that was?" Matt asked, only to receive shrugs in return.

The man had gotten up from the ground, and started ordering people around.

"I need a FLIR, and cameras set up all around this area. There's something down there."

Callie found a nearby rock, and motioned for Matt to sit along-side her.

He casually handed her a bottle of water, "What the hell was that?"

She shrugged, "I told you I don't know. Maybe they will find something."

The crew member, who helped her up, came over and offered his hand.

"I'm Brad, and you are?"

Callie cracked a smile, "Lucky to be alive."

The man flashed her a quick smile.

"I'm Callie, and this is Matt."

He nodded to Matt, "Are either of your certified for First Aide?"

Callie shook her head, along with Matt.

"Alright, well.. we need to check out that leg, before it gets infected," He said as he pulled a Kit out of his bag.

Callie placed her leg onto another rock, and "assisted" as Brad slowly removed her shoe.

As he sopped up the blood, the crew seemed to come alive around them.

"How's she holding up?" A tall, thin, and blond man asked, as he walked by holding a camera.

"Cuts are shallow, but there's definitely something big about the marks. I think we might want Josh to look at these." He said to the man.

"Hey Josh!" The man called out.

"Yeah Casey, what did you find?"

"A girl with nice bite marks. You might really want to check these out." Casey replied.

The man stepped out from the bush, and knelt in front of her.

He inspected her leg for a few minutes, when he sat back and looked up at her.

"Do you mind if I make a mold of these?"

"Usually boys ask my name first before they ask about my bite marks."She said with a spark in her eye.

This made him laugh, "Ha ha, usually I'm the one with the witty remarks, but where are my manners. My name's Josh. "

"Callie. And I want to thank you once again for saving me." She said with a sweet smile.

He shrugged, and turned a slight shade of pink, "I did want anyone else would do."

"I don't know about that. Matt here would have screamed until I managed to drag myself out of there." Callie said, glancing over to where Matt was standing, scowling at her.

"At least his screams tell you how nervous he is." Josh replied, looking over to Matt as well.

Josh took a small cup filled with putty like gel and slowly poured it on her leg.

"Give it a few minutes to set before you walk around. This could be something undiscovered, and we don't want to ruin the chances of discovering it."

Callie smiled, "Yeah, now I can walk around saying I got attacked by a never before seen animal!"

Josh laughed, "Oh, of course. Alright, I'm going to get these guys set up… is there any chance you'd like to go back down there?"

Before she answered she looked over to Matt, when she was satisfied that he was preoccupied, she turned back to Josh and nodded vigorously.

Josh smiled, "Awesome. Alright, I'll come let you know in maybe about an hour."


	2. Encounter

Callie and Matt watched in awe of all the equipment that Josh and his team had, and the fact that this team knew exactly what to do.

"Alright, I'm going to scan the sky for anything that looks like a Pteryadactyl's stomach, and then we can go search the jungle. We'll leave the cave for last."

Josh said, motioning for Casey to go with him.

Callie sighed, and shifted her leg restlessly.

"What now? You can't be thinking that you'd like to join them, are you?" Matt asked, a hint of  
scolding in his voice.

She scowled at him, "You know that is exactly what I'm thinking."

Matt glared at her, "You have no self control, Callie."

Brad, who was setting up the split-screen laughed at the two, and went back to the monitors.

"You're right, Matthew. No self control whatsoever."

"Hey, Callie. Would you like to help monitor the cameras?" Brad called over to her.

"Sure."

Matt helped her stand and gently placed her next to Brad.

"So, what are we looking at?" Callie asked, looking over at Brad.

He pointed to the monitor, "This is taped to a tree near the cliff, the others are at various spots along the area. We're mostly interested in this one."

He pointed at the overlook of the cliff, "We're looking for any light that appears in the sky."

"Don't planes fly here at night?"

Brad shook his head, "Not that we know of. Let me ask Josh."

He quickly picked up his walkie and radioed Josh, "Josh, do you copy?

"I copy Brad, what's going on?"

"You said no planes fly here at night, correct?"

"Yeah, why, do you see something?"

"No, we just wanted to double check."

Callie decided to turn back towards Matt, who happened to be sitting next to the clearing, "Do you hear that?"

Brad looked at Callie, "No.. I don't hear anything."

"Shh, listen."

A low thunderous sound came over the clearing and suddenly stopped, but not without the tree swaying and closely followed was a loud tremble.

"What was that?!" Matt asked, quickly backing away from the log he was sitting on.

"Josh, do you copy?"

Brad held the talk button and was about to speak when a deafening roar was heard through the clearing.

"Brad! Brad, do you copy. We just heard whatever that was from where we are, and we're on our way back."

Brad went to speak, when Callie held a finger to her lips.

The ground around them trembled and a dense glow came through the trees.

"Josh, we're hearing trembles and we see a dense light through the trees. I think this thing is heading towards the cave," Brad quietly said into the radio.

"We're almost there Brad, keep calm."

"Yeah.."

The glow seemed to get closer and a foul stench followed.

Jumping, Brad let out scream when the bushes behind him moved, revealing Josh and Casey.

"Shh!" Josh said, covering Brad's mouth.

The trees shook more violently and soon a loud crack echoed through the clearing.

"Guys, we need to move, now!"

Josh grabbed a camera and moved towards the noise.

"Josh! What are you doing!?" Casey yelled after him.

"I need to get this on tape."

They all watched in horror as the trees nearest to them cme crashing to the ground.

What stood before them was a creature that looked as if it had escaped from Jurassic Park.

"What is that?!" Brad whispered to Josh.

"No idea. Everyone stay calm." Josh said, slowly moving his arms.

He took a few steps closer to the beast, when it emitted a high pitched roar.

"Josh, let's go. Now!"

Callie grabbed at Matt's arm, "Matt, help me up!"

He quickly glance at her and then towards the monster.

The beast took a few steps into the camp, almost squishing Josh and the base camp in the process.

"Everyone, run!" Josh yelled.

The crew quickly gathered as much equipment as they could and made their way towards shelter.

Unable to run, Callie sat as still as she could manage.

As she sat there, she felt a hand be placed on her shoulder, causing her to jump and let out a squeal.

"Shh, be calm." Josh whispered into her ear, wrapping his arm around her, and placed one over her mouth.

The beast turned it's head towards them and made it's way over.

Callie sat there, shaking.

Josh wrapped his arm around her tighter, and steadied his breathing.

The creature lowered its head and sniffed around them, it's breath smelling of rotten garbage and decaying fish.

"Hey! Heyyy! Over here!"

Callie and Josh glanced over towards the crew and saw Brad and Casey waving flares around trying to attract the beast's attention.

It quickly turned towards the flares and stepped towards them.

"Shit!" Brad cried, tossing his flare over the cliff.

Casey, quickly followed suit.

The creature spread its wings and took off over the side of the cliff, after the flares.

The camp stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"What the hell was that thing?" Casey yelled, running back to base camp.

Brad shook his head, "I have no idea. Josh, did you see that thing?"

Josh unwrapped his arms from Callie, "Yeah, I saw it Brad. The damn thing almost ripped our faces off."

Brad shrugged.

"Please tell me someone got that on tape?"

"We got it! One of the cameramen yelled as they quickly rewound the tapes.

Josh's face broke into a wide grin, "Guys.. we did it! HOLY SHIT!"

Everyone broke into chorus' of cheers; yelling and hugging everyone.

"Alright guys, the sun is surprisingly starting to rise. Let's start breaking everything down and get out of this place!"

The crew immediately set to work breaking down the cameras.

Callie sat on her rock, watching the team move in unison.

"Hey, can I take a look at your leg?" Brad asked, kneeling down before her.

She nodded and stuck out her leg.

Brad chuckled and slowly begn to unwrap her ankle.

"I feel like Cinderella. Except that your obviously already married, Callie stated smiling and winking at Brad.

"Except I am probably nothing like your Prince Charming. Then again.."

He glanced up at her and winked, causing her to laugh.

Josh turned and glance towards them, "Brad, are you check on her leg?"

"Yeah, come and take a look at this."

Josh knelt down next to Brad and lightly touched the bite marks.

"This looks more like a wild animal bite than a Ropen bite."

"Well since no one really know what a Ropen bite looks like, I'd have to agree. And it doesn't look infected either, which is a good sign."

Callie laughed, "Of course it's good. But tell me doctor, am I going to live?!"

Brad shook his head, "Unfortunately, my dear, you will survive."

She smiled and nodded at the two of them.

"Let's re-wrap this and get her back to the States."

The sun had finally risen over the bay, and Josh and his team were ready to trek down to the waiting boats.

Matt braced Callie with one arm, and Casey had her opposite side.

They found their way down the path, having to stop briefly so Matt and Casey could regroup.

Finally, they boarded the boats and set off to the main land.

The trip was short; since the locals didn't like being near the island.

Hitting land, they unloaded their gear and piled into their rental car.

"Do you have a ride to the airport?" Josh asked, as everyone settled in.

Matt nodded, "Yeah, but we are going to stay here for another night so Callie can rest."

Josh nodded, "This is going to be an awkward farewell. Although, this is my number at "headquarters" if you ever want to contact us."

Matt took the business card and placed it in his pocket, "Thank you. We really appreciate everything you've done."

"Oh, likewise! I don't think we would have found the cave if it wasn't for you!" Brad stated, motioning towards Callie.

She smiled, "Glad I could help."

Josh nodded, "Welll, not to drag this out any longer, we need to get to the airport. It really was a pleasure meeting you."

They all said quick goodbyes and they waved to Callie and Matt as the car pulled away.

"So, that was an adventure.." Matt slowly stated, as he helped Callie hobble to their lodging.

When they made it to their room, Callie grabbed some clothes and stated she was going to  
shower.

Matt nodded, "I want to re-wrap that leg after you get out."

Callie quickly showered and hobbled back into the main room.

Sitting on the bed, she placed her foot onto Matt's lap and threw the extra bandages at him.

"I cannot believe we actually saw something. If it wasn't for Josh and his team, you'd be dead... what a freaking trip." Matt quipped as he wrapped her ankle.

Callie nodded and stifled a yawn, laying down on the bed.

As Matt continued to wrap her leg, Callie slowly nodded off.

Matt noticing, gently placed her leg back on the bed and lifted the covers over her.

"Goodnight Cal."

He gathered his clothes and made his way into the bathroom.


	3. Long Way Home

When Callie woke up the next morning, Matt had everything packed and ready to go.

"Morning sunshine. I laid out some clothes for you, and our plane leaves in three hours." Matt stated, turning on the TV.

Callie wiggled out of the bed, grabbed her clothes and hobbled her way into the bathroom.

She emerged, dressed and fully recharged.

"Alright, we should leave now, just in case."

Callie smiled, "Good, cause I'm ready to go home."

Matt nodded, "Me too. We really need to get you to a doctor."

Checking out of the hotel, they made their way out to the bustling streets of Papa New Guinea.

Half an hour later, they broke through the crowd and could see the airport ahead of them.

"Finally, we made it. How are you holding up?" Matt asked, turning towards Callie, who was biting her lip and white with pain.

"The quicker we reach the terminal, the better. "

He nodded, "Alright. Let's get you off this leg. I could carry you."

She laughed, "No, just grab a cart for the bags and I can sit on it."

They wheeled their way to the gate and stood at the ticket counter.

"You're all set. The plane should be arriving in half an hour." The man behind the counter stated, handing Matt the tickets.

Matt thanked him and turned back to Callie.

She was sitting on the bench, her right leg was propped on the luggage cart.

"Here," Matt said, digging into his bag and pulling out a bottle of aspirin and some water. He placed four pills into her hand and held the water bottle out to her.

She smiled up at him thankfully, and took a large gulp from thebottle.

"Easy now, killer."

Callie scowled at him and handed the bottle back to him.

"Now boarding flight 200, to LAX."

Callie cheered, and shakily stood from the bench.

Soon they were seated and buckled in, and Callie placed her ear buds into her ears.

"Wake me up when we land." She said, closing her eyes.

She was out within minutes.  
_

"Callie, wake up. We're home."

She groaned and removed the earbuds and placed her iPod into her pocket. Looking out the window, she could see the all too familiar landscape of her home state and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, Matt."

"You're welcome. Oh, I called your doctor and explained the situation to them. He would like for us to get there as soon as possible. "

Callie stared nodded, "What did you tell them? Cause I'm sure flat out telling them I was bit by a dinosaur would go over well."

He nodded, smiling, "Well I told them that you were bitten in Papa New Guinea by some sort of animal and we want to make sure we don't have to amputate your leg."

They disembarked from the plane and slowly traveled through the always busy LAX terminal towards baggage claim.

After a few long minutes, the bags began to roll through the doors and slowly made their way around the track.

"Alright, you sit here, I'm going to get the car, and I'll pick you up out front, alright?"

Callie grimaced and Matt lightly punched her shoulder, "Come on. You'll be fine!"

A few minutes later, Matt pulled up in his shiny black BMW; he quickly ran from the car and helped Callie slide into the backseat, so she could comfortably prop up her leg.

"Thank you!"

Matt patted her on the head, "Anything for you my dear."  
_

It took them nearly twenty minutes to get out of the airport and onto the Pacific Coast Highway. Callie sat in the back, restless. She had missed California so much for the last few days and with what had happened, she wasn't sure she would have been able to make it home in one piece. She made a mental note to send the Destination Truth guys either a giant fruit basket, or a giant thank you card.

"What are you thinking about missy?"

Callie snapped her attention back to Matt, "Just thinking about the guys from DT and how if it wasn't for them, I might not be alive right now, and how I could possibly ever thank them and whatnot."

Matt looked at her through the rearview mirror, "I know what you mean."

The rest of the ride was silent, Matt was kind enough to leave her to her thoughts.

When they finally arrived at the doctor's office, Matt parked the BMW in front of the main doors, jumped out of the car and grabbed a wheelchair from just inside the door. He quickly pushed it back to the car and gingerly helped Callie out of the backseat.

He rolled her into the main lobby and murmured something about moving the car, and he'd be back momentarily.

Callie rolled her eyes at him and managed to push herself towards the receptionist's desk.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"Um, yes. I have an emergency appointment with Dr. Weston."

"Name?"

"Callie Anderson."

She could hear the receptionist typing away on her keyboard, "Alright, Miss Anderson. If you want to have a seat, he will be with you momenetarily."

"Thank you."

Callie rolled herself over to the nearest set of empty chairs and waited for Matt to re-enter the waiting room.

A few seconds later, Matt walked back into the waiting room and plopped down on a seat next to her.

"So, my dear; what did you think about Josh? He has a bit of rugged sexiness to him, don't you think?" He asked, gently nudging her in the arm.

She rolled her eyes, "Please Matt. I barely know the guy."

Matt shrugged, "Doesn't mean you can't get to know him!"

"Whatever."

The door next to the receptionist opened and a nurse, wearing floral scrubs stepped into the lobby, "Callie?"

Matt stood and helped wheel Callie through the door.

"Right through here, please."

Matt helped her out of the wheelchair and onto the tall bench.

"Now, you said you're here because of an animal bite, and you want to make sure you aren't infected, right?"

They nodded, and the nurse continued, "Alright, if you could just help me remove the bandage and then we can assess the damage and go from there."

Matt gingerly knelt next to Callie and gently began to unwrap the gauze and ACE Bandage from her ankle.

"Oh wow."

The nurse glanced at the wound and grabbed a dressing gown, "If you could put this on, Doctor Weston will be right with you."

There was a small knock on the door and a tall, young man dressed in a long white lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck entered the room.

"Alright, so I hear we have a pretty nasty bite and you need to get the necessary shots and possible medication to help with the swelling down."

Callie nodded and watched as the doctor went to work on her mangled ankle.  
_

Three shots, a set of crutches and forty-five minutes later, Callie hobbled out of the office and towards Matt's parked car.

"Ugh, I hate crutches. This shit blows."

"Stop complaining, let's get you home."

"Yeah, yeah."

Callie must have dozed off, due to whatever the doctor gave her, and woke when she felt the car come to a stop. She opened her eyes and noticed they were home.

"Come on sleepy head, we're home."

Matt, against her wishes, bent down and gently picked her up, careful to not hit her leg on the car door and carried her to the front door. He set her down so he could rummage through his pockets for the key and made to pick her up again when she stopped him.

"I think I can manage to hobble to the couch."

He smiled, "Alright. Get yourself settled and I'll bring in our bags, get you comfortable, start dinner and begin unpacking."

Callie smiled, and placed a hand on his cheek, "You treat me too well sometimes, you know that?"

Matt dropped his gaze, "You'd do the same for me, minus the carrying me. You're my best friend Callista, I'm supposed to look after you."

She gave him and big hug and kissed his cheek, "You are the bestest friend a girl could ask for."

He smiled, "Alright. Sit your ass down and I'll get you some pillows."

After Matt took care of her, she watched as he ran 900miles an hour trying to get them settled from their trip.

URoughly an hour later, Matt let out a huge relieved sigh as he sat down on the recliner, "Alright chicky, dinner is in the oven and it's your favorite."

Smiling, Callie thanked him.

"Let's see what's on TV."

They scrolled through the TV Guide and settled on the Batman marathon AMC was hosting, starting with the classic 1966 Adam West Batman Movie.

Their laughter was broken by the sound of Callie's phone ringing. She groaned, leaning forward to retrieve the buzzing device.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Callie Anderson?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Brad Kuhlman."

Callie smiled, "Prince Charming! How are you?"

She could hear him laugh, "I'm good. I heard you made it back to the states and managed to keep your ankle. "

"Of course. I mean, if it wasn't for your expert medical attention, I would have had to have it amputated. No big deal."

He chuckled, "So what did the doctor say?"

"Well, three huge needles later, a rabies shot and cortisone and one other that made me drowsy. Other than that, he told me to use crutches for a few weeks and if it doesn't improve, then to come back."

"Hopefully the shots will help and you can get off those crutches sooner than that! Well, I just wanted to call and make sure everything was alright, we were worried about you. I have to get going, the wife wants to go out."

"Alright, I appreciate you calling to check up on me Brad. Thank you, for everything."

They said goodbye and Callie turned back to the television.

"Brad from Papa New Guinea?"

Callie nodded, "Yeah, he wanted to check up on me."

Matt smiled, "They seem like nice people."

"Yeah.."

The silence was broken by the timer in the kitchen going off.

Matt stood, "I'll bring you a plate. Just sit there."

"Thank you!"

He kissed her head as he walked into the kitchen, "No problem."


	4. Evidence

Two weeks after returning home from Papa New Guinea, Callie was finally crutch free and testing her ankle's stability to the max. She stood in the bread aisle of her grocery store, and against her better judgment, should have let Matt do the shopping. Guess it's not a good idea to go grocery shopping while hungry.

She could be seen waffling between two of her favorite brands of white bread and as she moved to make her decision, someone stepped in next to her.

"You know, Wheat is much healthier for you than White bread."

Callie smiled to herself and dropped her gaze, "True, but I am a carbohydrate whore."

The man chuckled at her forwardness, leaned to his right and grabbed a loaf of Wheat off the shelf, "Try this. It's delicious."

She nodded, "I'll take your word for it."

She saw him stick his hand out from the corner of her eye.

"I'm Josh."

Without looking up, she grabbed his rough calloused hand in hers.

"Josh? Hey, how are you?"

He looked taken aback and started at her, "Callie?! Holy shit!"

"It's good to see you too."

She could see him turn red, "I see your leg is healed."

"Yeah, and I can see that you're trying to pick up girls at the grocery store."  
Josh looked up at her, a twinkle in his eye and his cheeks growing even redder, "I don't know what you are talking about."

She smiled, "Of course you don't. So what did you find out about the case?"

"I'll have to give you my number. We haven't started editing it just yet; we had another case to do down in Mexico, but I can give you a call when we start to edit everything."

Callie nodded, "Alright, well.. what days are best?"

"Um," Josh paused, rubbing the back of his neck, "..I have no idea. I can always give you a call." She nodded in response and they awkwardly stood there for a few moments. "Well," Josh said, "I better get going. It was good to see you! Glad you are doing good!" Callie smiled, "Yeah, thanks! I'll be waiting for your call."

They awkwardly said goodbye and Callie turned, letting Josh watch her as she walked away and towards the registers.

A week went by since Callie saw Josh at the grocery store, but they still called each other frequently and exchanged a few emails.

Callie was sitting at her computer desk when the new email notification buzzed. As she opened the tab, she noticed the familiar name and smiled to herself.

"Hey Callie,  
We just got all the footage from Argentina imported into the computers and started editing today. Was wondering if you'd like to come stop by the office and check out what we got before it airs next month on SyFy. If so, shoot me a quick email. The address is:

512 Walnut St  
Los Angeles, CA

Hope to hear from you soon,  
Joshua Gates"

Callie smiled, quickly jotted down the address and replied to Josh's email.

"Hey Josh,  
I would love to stop by and see the footage! I'll be leaving here shortly, it should only take me about twenty minutes!

See you soon!  
Callie"

She pushed herself away from the computer desk and grabbed her things. Within seconds, she was in her car and on the road to Josh's office.

Twenty minutes later, Callie had arrived at the office and no sooner had she pressed the intercom button, the door was released and Brad stood on the other side, a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Callie! It's good to see you! How's your leg?"

Callie smiled in return, "It's good to see you too Brad. It's doing much better, I'm not limping as much as I was the day after. Lots of prescribed drugs and rest really does the trick!"

Brad chuckled and they began to walk down a long corridor, which presumably held many offices, due to the number of doors on either side.

"This is mine and Casey's office, so; welcome to Ping Pong Productions!" Brad said proudly.

"I like it. Very casual, and I'm sure the staff isn't bad either," she winked at him.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Right this way Madame. Josh is inside helping Casey with editing."

Brad opened the door to a room that was filled with about five computers, a few dozen video cameras and a large bank of editing equipment plus a sound mixer.

"Look who I found in the main lobby!"

The guys turned around and smiled, "Hey, it's Callie!"

Casey stood up from the chair and gave her a big hug, "How are you? How's the leg?"

She smiled, "Good, and better. Finally."

Casey smiled and sat back down, "Well that's good. If you'll excuse me, I have a bit of editing to do; you guys can stay though."

Josh gave her a lopsided grin, "It's good to see you again."

Callie smiled in return, "You too."

The room fell silent for a bit, while everyone sat and watched Casey manipulate and enhance the video and sound quality.

"As soon as Casey can, we'll show you what I asked you to come over and see today. Let me just say this, it's amazing!"

Callie nodded, "Sounds good to me. Take your time."

They exchanged small talk for a few minutes until Casey pushed himself away from the desk and rubbed his eyes, "Alright we are go for watching the final edit."

Josh grabbed the nearest empty seat and rolled it over for Callie.

"Thanks."

He smiled in return and looked back over to the monitors.

"Alright, well this is what we've got before we jump in to save Callie."

She groaned, "Please tell me you don't have me like screaming or whatnot."

Casey turned and smiled at her, "Kinda. We have pretty much the point where we hear you scream, and them we kinda run up the hill. As you can see here.

Callie watched the monitor.

Josh was leading te group up the hill, following a very lost your guide when her scream is heard piercing through the thick jungle brush.

"Did you just hear that?!"

"It sounded like a person! Let's get up the hill and make sure no ones in trouble." Josh said, excusing himself from the guide and started jogging up the hill.

When the camera reached the clearing, Matt could be seen kneeling towards the mouth of the cave. When he saw that people were moving through the clearing he let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh, thank god! Listen, my friend is down there and something's wrong she isn't answering her walky and I'm freaking out!"

Brad stepped into frame, "Alright, take a deep breath, try to call her again."

As Brad stood with Matt, Josh and Casey started setting up the area with tarps and their other equipment.

Matt continued to crouch at the mouth of the cave when he heard Callie coming closer to the entrance. "Callie you scared the shit out of me! Next time use your wal-"

A low growl was heard from the cave and Matt took a small step back, as he did, Callie let out another loud scream.

Josh and Casey dropped what they were doing an ran to the mouth of the cave.

As they did, Callie managed to crawl out of the cave up to her shoulders when she was violently pulled back inside.

"Don't worry, I got you. Can you kick?"

Callie couldn't see, but she knew this was the moment when she felt someone grab her and she began wildly kicking her left leg as hard as possible into whatever was attempting to pull her back into the depths.

She immediately felt grateful for the help that Josh and Brad showed and she knew if it wasn't for them, she would most likely be dead.

A few seconds later, Callie watched as she kicked once more and saw her and Josh fly back into the tall grass.

Casey stopped the tape, "Well that's what we have of you screaming. And the first time we met you!"

Everything from here to the good stuff was a few cuts scenes of them setting up camp, and Callie sitting on a log being attended to by Brad and then a quick shot of Callie an Josh flirting, as he started a mold of Callie's wound.

Callie wouldn't let them see it, but she blushed.

They continued through the video and they added more jump cuts stopping at the moment where Brad an Callie were sitting at base amp staring at the monitors.

"This is where it gets good."

Casey pushed play and as Brad and Callie were talking a growl was heard and they quickly reacted.

"What was that?!"

Brad picked up the radio and called out to Josh.

"Yeah, we heard it too. We're on our way back."

Brad, Callie and Matt sat near the tents trying their hardest to stay quiet, and when they heard rustling in the brush, Matt nearly screamed.

Callie made a note to talk to Casey about Matt and watched the monitor as Josh an Gabe could be seen walking into the clearing.

They crew converged back on the area and began discussing what they had found or seen in the surrounding area.

As they talked a branch broke and another loud growl broke through the clearing.

The four of them leaned closer to the monitor, the bet part of their adventure was coming up.

The trees started swaying violently and half of the crew ran one way while the others, mainly Callie had to stay at camp because of her leg.

Watching the monitor she knew she was mentally cursing herself at this exact moment; why did she have to be so carefree in that moment when she practically dived head first into a dangerous cave.

As the large creature broke trough the camp, everyone went into panic mode. The cameraman nearly started screaming and you could slightly make out Callie standing before the giant beast.

As they watched, Josh ran into frame and grabbed Callie. The cameraman hid in the thick brush and tried to keep them and the creature in the same frame.

Soon, the beast waddled its way towards the two and as Josh slowly begin to withdraw from the clearing, he tripped on a rock and sent them to ground, Callie landed with her back against Josh chest and she winced loudly in pain.

Quickly, Josh put his hand over her mouth and you could see his mouth moving, quietly telling her to stay still.

Callie closed her eyes and leaned back against Josh, fearing the worst when suddenly the sound of Brad and Casey screaming for the creatures attention, waving around flares was like a scene out of Jurassic Park.

When the creature was far enough away, Josh removed his hand from her mouth and helped her into a standing position.

A few seconds of staring at each other Josh smiled and ran towards the cameraman who emerged from his hiding spot.

"Please tell me we got that on film!?"

Casey stopped the video and turned to look at the three of them.

No one spoke for nearly ten minutes.

Callie looked from Brad to Casey to Josh, who sat there with his mouth agape and running a hand over his three day stubble.

"I- I-.. Holy shit!"

Casey nodded, a goofy grin on his face.

Brad stood there his fingers resting on his chin, "My only concern is people calling that thing a hoax. How can we physically prove it was there?"

Josh shook his head, "I have no idea."

Callie cleared her throat, "Let people think what they want. The skeptics will continue on with their day and the true believers will do what it takes to get themselves to the area and search for the truth themselves."

Josh smiled at her, "I agree completely. I mean, people can sit there and say that we didn't find anything and managed to build a wooden dinosaur and whatnot. But we will know the real truth. Cause even if that was an elaborate hoax someone pulled on us, they'd have to have a background in movies or special effects."

They all nodded in agreement and sat there for a few minutes.

Brad glanced down at his watch, "Oh god it's almost 2. I need to get going. Gotta meet with a new client at 4. Callie it was good to see you again, please don't be a stranger! Casey, Josh I will give you guys a call later tonight."

He lightly hugged her, waved to the guys and pulled his phone from his pocket as he exited the room.

As the door shut, Casey turned back to the computer, "I gotta finish this case and then start working on the Chupacabra case video."

Callie and Josh stood from their seats said goodbye to Casey and opened the door to the long hallway.

"Hey, would you be interested in grabbing some lunch? I know this little diner right down the street. Has the best Turkey Club sandwich in the area."

Josh smiled, "Ma'am, are you asking me out on a date?"

Callie laughed, "If that's what you want to call it. I just call it eating lunch with some dude cause I'm freaking starving!"

"Sounds good to me. Let's go."

They exited the building and walked silently to the end of the street and turned left at the corner.

Royale Diner came into view within seconds and Callie pushed the door open and the two of them picked a booth in the far corner.

"Two waters please. And we are all set to order as well," Callie smiled at the waiter as he took their down their order, "Thanks."

"This sandwich better be amazing," Josh said pointing a finger at her.

"Or what?"

He frowned and stopped pointing, "No idea. I'll have to figure that out."

She waved her hand through the air casually dismissing his claim, followed by "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

They sat in silence for a few moments, waiting for their food, and people watching.

"So, how did you get into traveling everywhere? And how does Cryptozoology play a part in your life?"

Josh laughed and glanced down, an adorable half smile on his face, "Actually, it's somewhat of a funny story.."

Josh began to go into detail about his college years. He explained how his parents were very understanding for his want to study Archaeology and Drama.

"My dad is an experienced Scuba diver and my moms from England, so they were always under the philosophy of, 'if it makes you happy'. So yeah, I had a great support system at home."

Callie smiled, "That's awesome. My parents weren't as understanding. I had to go to school for what they wanted. By my junior year of college, I had dropped out and went traveling. Spent a few years in Italy and finished school there."

Josh smiled, "They weren't too happy, were they?"

Callie shrugged, "If they weren't, they've never told me."

Josh nodded.

They sat in silence for a few moments, until the waiter came over are young their food.

"Thank you." They both said as the waiter asked if they needed anything else and walked away.

"Wow. I must say this sandwich already LOOKS amazing."

Callie gave Josh a huge grin, and bit into her sandwich. She had to close her eyes, and quickly opened them again once he heard Josh laughing, "Really? It's that good?"

Callie motioned for him to take a bite.

He stared at the gigantic sandwich in his hands and brought it to his mouth. He took a decent sized bite and momentarily had the same reaction as Callie. He let out a low groan and stared at her.

"Oh my god. You were right! This is delicious," He said with his mouth full and not bothering to try to cover his mouth.

Callie laughed, "I told you, didn't I?!"

Josh nodded and took another bite.


End file.
